Deep In The Dark
by Gemini-moon1
Summary: AF Angel meets Faith in N.Y without ever meeting Buffy.
1. Tattoo

Hey everyone! This is the third story I'm writing. I'm still working on the other two but I got this in my head and decided to do it now before I forget some of the things I wanted to do with this. It's an A/F like the other two and I hope you enjoy it!  
  
SUMMERY: okay for a more detailed summery here it is. Whistler is supposed to go to Angel and tell him about Buffy and show her to him and that's when he falls in love with her and then the rest of the story unfolds from there, instead Whistler doesn't go to Angel and he and Buffy never meet. What would have happened then?  
  
  
  
New York  
  
In an ally in one of the more "forgotten" sides of New York it looked like another ordinary day. Screaming coming from the insides of houses, the sound of police cars in the distance and a few people that would dare venture out after dark in this side of town, mostly for the reason of drugs. In this ally listening and watching it all was a young man sitting against one of the walls. To the people who saw him he appeared to be in his mid-twenties. He was tall. He had brown hair that badly needed a cut and a wash, and his clothes were old and ripped. Even with all of it he was an obviously handsome man. His name now, as it had been through the past few decades, was Angel. He looked around at the constant happenings around him. Just another day. Like the hundreds, to thousands that came before it. Wake up just before sunset in a sewer, remember all of horrific things he had done, go into a state of depression, then end up where ever he did. There were those times when the thought of ending it all seemed like a blessing, he even attempted to go through with it more then once but never could do it. He hated himself for that. Why was he staying? He had no purpose, no family, no friends. Why he lingered in this life was a mystery even to him. But even if he could one day gain the courage to go through with his actions what would happen then? The rest of eternity roasting in the pits of hell for the lives he'd taken, tortured, and manipulated. He slowly stood up. It was about an hour after night fall; he couldn't just sit there in that ally all day. He put his hands in his pockets and started to walk down the dirty street. He wondered down not really sure where he was going or where he was going to end up, just like the nights before. Eventually he came to a cemetery. The gate that surrounded it had been broken open, recently by the looks of it. Probably just some kids that went in to vandalize some of the graves. When he was growing up such a thing wasn't even imaginable. You didn't go into a cemetery just to ruin the markers of the dead. Of course then there were grave robbers who dug up the bodies to steal the jewelry that had been left on them or to sell the body to a medical school or both. He guessed the first one was worse but why think of that now? He did that sometimes, compare things as they were in the modern time to the time of years, decades, even centuries ago. Did other vampires still do that? When he was younger he didn't think about it much. First because there weren't so many and new changes, second because he didn't have so much alone time to just think. All he seemed to do now was think. Think and reflect. On and on. It was a miracle that he hadn't lost his mind yet. He walk into the open gate and glanced at the graves as he passed by. He had already picked up some sort of sent of a living creature. In the distance he could hear a few noises that he couldn't really identify. After a few moments of listening they began to sound like fighting. But not the usual kind. Not the kind heard in the city. He walked slowly toward the noises with a mild curiosity. In a small clearing he could see three figures. One that he could barely make out because of the headstones and her quick movements was obviously a female, and one with a beautiful body. Even from here in was obvious. The other two were male and were attacking the young woman. But there was something much more familiar about the second two. He knew what they were. Vampires like himself. He saw glimpses of there faces and knew that they were in there demon form. There fangs were barred and there eyes glowed a deep yellow that he knew so well. He watched the female pick something up off the ground next to her and stab it in the nearest vampire's chest who immediately turned into dust. It was a stake. Slayer. He thought to himself. He began to turn to leave. He would rather not stay only a few arms length away from a fighting slayer. But to his surprise the remaining vampire easily knocked the stake out of her hands and on the ground a few3 feet away from him. He then knocked her to the ground. He starred on a bit surprised. A Slayer shouldn't have been taken down so easily. He looked at the girl now on the ground and could see her more then he could before. She was younger then her body had suggested. The way she dressed and the way she moved put her more into her teens. Most likely around 17 or 16. She was young, even by the standards of a slayer. He watched the vampire pin her to the ground. She let out a small scream of disgust and to pull away but couldn't. He could see from here that it was useless. He looked at her. Then looked down at the stake near him and picked it up. He should have, WOULD have walked away just as he had done before with many others who were in trouble, but there was something about this girl, he knew if he just left her there he could never forgive himself. He quickly moved over and stabbed the vampire hard into the back. The body turned to dust to show the face of a surprised young woman. He finally got a good look at her. She was tall with dark brown hair that was almost black, her eyes almost matched her hair in there darkness but were clearly brown. She had a beautiful body as he noticed before and she wasn't afraid to show it. All together she was a very beautiful woman even if she was still very young. She sat up still looking at him.  
  
"How did you how to that!?" She asked very suddenly.  
  
"I know a lot about vampires." He said turning to walk away. It had been a while since he had said more then three words to some one. He was used to leaving someone quickly.  
  
"Wait a minuet!" she said now almost annoyed. He could hear her stand up behind him. To his surprise she grabbed his arm and turned him toward her. He flinched a little as she did this. It had been a VERY long time since someone had touched him. He starred at her.  
  
"What do you mean 'you know a lot about vampires', how do you know?" she asked quickly.  
  
"It doesn't matter." He said a little unsure of himself. He willed his body to move away but he could take his eyes off this girl. There was just something very unique about her.  
  
"Yes it does!" she said with a glare in her eyes as if she was angry at him. "Do you know what I am?" she asked very seriously.  
  
"The slayer." He said in a steady statement. It sounded as if he knew what he was talking about but talking to her he started to have his doubts. She didn't sound like the slayer.  
  
"How did you know that? You not another one of those watcher assholes are you?" she said backing away a little. "You don't dress like one." She said looking at his clothes.  
  
"I'm not." He said knowing what she was talking about already. So she is the slayer he thought to himself. But then didn't she already that he was a vampire? Couldn't she sense it? She had to be a young slayer not to notice. For all he knew that might have the first time she ever fought a vampire. She continued to stare at him.  
  
"Why did you help me?" she asked with a suspicious tone in her voice.  
  
Good question he thought to himself. Over the years he had stopped helping people, every time he did something usually went wrong.  
  
"Well?" she asked defensively.  
  
"I just did." He said finally turning around and walking away.  
  
"You still aren't telling me what I want to know."  
  
He turned his head to see her and noticed that she was starring at his back. He put his hand on the top of his back feeling the exposed skin. The back of his jacket and shirt had been ripped open. How did that happen? Didn't matter. He could get a new shirt eventually. Why was she starring at his back like that though? He suddenly realized that his ripped open shirt exposed his tattoo. He had gotten it over a century ago but it was still there. When they said permanent they meant permanent.  
  
"Just forget about it, it was nothing."  
  
"Aren't human are you?" she asked almost quietly.  
  
He kept walking straight ahead and didn't turn around to look at her. So she figured it out. Didn't matter. She was never going to see him again anyway. 


	2. Look Into Faith

The girl starred after then man who was now walking away from her. Still able to see the tattoo on his back. He definitely wasn't human. She could feel that now. Then why did he help her? Weren't all non human....things supposed to be evil or some crap like that. Then again the watchers she knew seemed to have a pretty one tract mind. Another lie. Lies, that's all they seemed to tell her. She starred after the stranger that saved her. Being helped by anyone was new to her. It wasn't something she really HAD growing up or now. She turned away and started to head for home. Her back still hurt from her fall and she was starting to freeze up. Maggie's words started to repeat in her head as she began to walk down the street.  
  
'You've been trained well enough'  
  
'You can fight on your own'  
  
'Most slayers would have killed dozens of vampires by now.'  
  
Most slayers. Great. Another thing to fail at and another bitch to yell about it she thought. Maggie was brutal, cold and unfeeling. All emotions she was used to. Who the hell cared anyway? I'm not even the real slayer, the other one never died. She was just a runner-up or whatever. She smiled to herself. She did like her new strength, and she loved fighting and training, just not the people that came with it. She finally reached a building that was old and in serious need of repair. There was a man on the front step with a whiskey bottle in hand that had passed out, yelling could be heard from inside with the sound of breaking glass. The young woman hurried in through the door and went up the steps until she reached the third floor. She took out a key and unlocked the front door. She went quickly through the small living room into one of two bedrooms. She shut then locked the door behind her. Last thing she wanted was her mother or one of her boyfriends to walk in. She gave out a snort. Her father had almost been better. He would show up one month out of the year only because he had no other place to stay, her mother wouldn't care. Mommy dearest would just go out with one of her boyfriends and dear daddy would go out with one of her friends or whatever tramp was on the street. He stopped showing up about two years. She guessed her mother still got child support but she never asked. She tried to avoid the woman as much as possible. She turned on the stereo next to the bed and listened to the loud music blast out of it. She looked on the floor next to the bed to see some very old looking books stacked there. Where did these come from? She picked up the nearest copy and read the cover.  
  
'Vampires'  
  
Great another "How Too" guide. She picked up the others. And laid them all out in front of her. There was one on the history of the slayers, one on the different types of demons, one on the markings of the inhuman, and one on the history of vampires. 'Good thing I hardly go to school anyway.' She thought to herself. When the fuck was she ever going to use any of these? Vampires stake them, got it. Slayers kill vampires and any bad demons they can find and witches can go either way, bad or good, werewolves may look scary but they ARE human. She was about to put the books away never to be seen by her eyes again when her she glanced once more at the one about the markings of the inhuman. Her mind strayed back to the man in the cemetery. He was INCREDABLEY hot; she would give him that even though he use a hair cut. SO? She questioned her own mind. Yeah some guy helps you so what. He wasn't human though, and according Maggie and those 'suit' guys that meant he was evil. They did lie about things before, and every lie seemed to put her in danger. Shouldn't she at least check it out? JUST to be safe. She picked up the thick book and started to page through it looking at the pictures of symbols on every page. What was it again? A bird framing a giant 'A'?  
  
  
  
She been doing this for 15 minuets. Se let out a sigh. Why was she doing this again? Maybe she should stop, this was pointless. She was about to close the book when she saw it printed out on a page in the middle. It was the bird, it was missing the A but it did look exactly like what she had seen on the man's back. She looked at the description printed next to it. Ancient symbol of the Celts....blah blah blah...knights...blah blah blah....received the most recognition when it along with the image of an A was inked into the back of the vampire Angelus. And that's where it stopped. A vampire? A VAMPIRE helped her? What?! And whose Angelus?

Hey everyone thanks for the reviews! And to the shadower I'm glad your writing again, I like your new story already.


	3. Dinner Party

Angel sat alone in the corner of a near empty Diner. At the counter was a man looking at a newspaper and drinking coffee. A few tables away from him was a young couple holding hands as they sat together. Angel had a cup of coffee in front of him untouched, he wasn't in the mood to eat or drink anything that a human would, but it would look a little odd to sit there and not have anything in front of him. True it probably wouldn't have given any one more then a few moments thought but to him any thing that would gain him the slightest form of attention wasn't a good thing. He had gotten some new clothes; his hair was washed but could still use a cut. He sat there and watched the unknowing people around him. Over the years he had learned that you could tell a lot about people just by watching them. Not there clothes but the actions, the small things that seemed insignificant. The man at the counter was a business man, something do with the stock market. The couple looked happy enough, expensive clothes, woman had jewelry, they smiled and kissed each other but they were both cheating on their spouses. That had REALLY started to annoy him in the past years. He didn't have anyone, it would be impossible for him. But then there were those around him who had people, family and friends, all around them, and they would betray the one closest to them for fun without a second thought. He turned his head away from the two of them to look out the window. When was the last time he had a conversation with someone? His mind went back to the other day to that girl, the slayer. Her large dark eyes. He felt sorry. As a slayer she would die young, just as they all did sooner or later. He was sorry that that beautiful young girl would have to die young. He'd stop it if he could. He shook his head almost in wonder where those thoughts had come from. True he had thought about her more then once but that wasn't odd. It was the only thing that had happened to him in the past...week? Month? Year? He didn't know. He went back to his musings trying to ignore his previous thoughts. He didn't often like to think about his life now and the way it was going.  
  
  
  
Faith smiled as she looked around the party. It had been thrown by a guy who lived nearby. He always flirted with her when she passed him on the street. They talked from time to time. She knew a lot of these people from school before she dropped out, others she just hang out with, but about half of them she didn't recognize. There was beer on the table and smoke was everywhere. She listened to the music around her. She loved dancing. It had to be her favorite thing but even she got tired after a while. She walked over and picked up the drink she had left on a table. A few moments later things started to blur. She reached for the wall to lean against it but she could reach it. It was either to far away or to close. To close? Did that even make sense? She felt a someone lean up against her, a guy most likely. Nothing new. Take him or get rid of him. She would have said something or punched him or something but the room just kept getting more and more......off key? Did that make sense? She didn't even know. She started to laugh out loud at that? She stopped laughing suddenly. She looked around. No one had noticed her laughing at nothing. They were all dancing, drinking, laughing, arguing, fighting, and some were making out on the floor and against the walls, some a little more then that. She stumbled a little and ran into something. The door? The door! She moved her hand around trying to find the handle, she eventually found it and managed to open the door. She fell in to the hall way and landed on her knees. She crawled forwards to where she thought the stairs were. She grabbed on to the railing and pulled herself up. It took her ten times longer then it should have but she finally made it to the bottom. The front door was next to her, she moved toward it and stumbled out. She couldn't stop herself and she fell down the steps on to the cement sidewalk. She sat up and tried to get a hold of her surroundings. Things were getting worse. It was getting harder to focus. She had to get home. And then what? Your 'mommy' will take care of you? She laughed out loud again and more uncontrollable then before. She felt someone grab her shoulders and help her up.  
  
How do like this story so far? Give me suggestions and reviews. 


	4. Eat Your Iron Dear

Angel walked out of the Diner and down the street. Another seven hours until sunrise. Great. He continued to walk down the streets not really thinking about what was around him. Music was blaring in the distance, a few blocks away. Even from hear it was loud. He wondered why no one would call the police to complain about the noise. But then who would call the cops in this neighborhood? He turned the corner and started to walk towards the music. He didn't really like the new trend in parties. The new dances and music, but he could sense the joy, happiness and general 'fun' that came from them when he was near them. He might as well walk by.  
  
He looked ahead down the street a little to see something odd. A girl suddenly ran out the doors and fell down the steps onto her knees on the sidewalk. She just sat for a moment. Something about her looked very familiar. Suddenly she started laughing. Then as suddenly as she began she stopped. He kept waling toward her though a little more cousiouly then before. She made a noise that sounded almost like a whimper. When he got close enough he saw a tattoo on her left arm that looked familiar. He new who she was. The slayer. The one form the other day. She didn't look well. Her skin had turned incredibly pale and looked almost deathly ill. He could smell alcohol on her but not enough for her to be drunk.  
  
"Are you all right?" he asked out loud. She just sat. She wasn't ignoring him, no, it was almost like she hadn't heard him. He stood directly behind her and she still didn't notice. Was she aware of anything around her? Wasn't like any slayer he had ever heard of. He slowly bent over and hesitantly and gently grabbed both of her shoulders afraid at what her reaction would be. He slowly pulled her up. Instead of standing on her own she fell back against him. She wasn't strong enough to even stand? He could hear her heart beat inside of her and to his horror it was slowing as if it was going towards a stop. He had to get her to a hospital.  
  
  
  
It was so loud. No it was quiet. The quiet was loud. She tried to open her eyes but it was to bright. She tried again squinting this time. Everything was still to bright and slightly blurred but that was going away. She was in a bed. More like a cot really. She looked around her she was in a small room with a curtain on one side of her, she could tell there was another person behind it. A hospital. Was she in a hospital? She tried to lift her head. It was hard to move. She looked up to see two people. The first was an older woman in her late fifty's, by the way she was dress it was obvious she was a doctor. There was a man in his twenties standing next to her and talking to her. He was a very handsome and he looked very familiar. The man, no, the vampire from before. Angelus?  
  
  
  
Angel looked at the girl in the hospital bed. She was starting to stir. She'd be awake soon. He turned his attention back to the doctor who was looking at the diagnoses on her clip board.  
  
"Is she a friend of yours?" she looked up asking.  
  
"No I meet her a few days ago but I didn't get a name."  
  
"You don't know of any number we can call?"  
  
"No."  
  
"I can't really give out personal information." She said her beeper rang. She picked it up.  
  
"Damn!" She said out loud. "Look I've got to go and it looks like sleeping beauty is waking up." She looked at him a little nervously like trying to decided weather he could be trusted. "Look I'm just going to tell you what's wrong and you can tell her the nurse should be by soon."  
  
"Okay"  
  
"She has iron poisoning. Which is VERY odd."  
  
"What?" Angel said not really sure what else to say  
  
"Iron poisoning mainly involves children younger than 6 years who swallow pediatric or vitamins containing iron. Adults can get it but they would have to take much more or a long period of time. When wakes up ask her if she takes any iron tablets, A lot of people just take a lot of medicine with iron in it without thinking about it." She said turning to walk away leaving Angel behind.  
  
Angel stood there not entirely sure what to do. She seemed to be awake. He walked over to her. She still seemed a little out of it.  
  
  
  
Faith saw him walk over to her and stand next to the bed. Her vision was becoming clearer. She looked up at him.  
  
"Glad to see your awake." He said looking down at her.  
  
"What are you doing here?" she asked a little oddly.  
  
"I found you and brought you here."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"Because you looked like you were going to die." He said. "And you probably would have."  
  
"What?" she asked still confused to what was going on. Why did a vampire, of all people, keep saving her?  
  
"You have iron poisoning. At least that's what the doctor said. She said to ask you what kind of medicine you've been taking, you've had too much."  
  
"Medicine? I don't take any medicine."  
  
"But the doctor said..." but he couldn't finish the nurse came.  
  
"Okay, we gave a chelating agent to bind up the iron in your bloodstream and helped eliminate it from your body, but we still don't know your name." she said looking at her.  
  
"My name's Faith D'Laney." She answered realizing she had also given her name to 'Angelus' or whatever his name was.  
  
"Well Miss D'Laney, you can go home in another two hours if your up to it. In that mean time you should call home can you give me your number?" she said handing her a clip board. Faith wrote it down.  
  
"Okay. Now what kind of medicine have you been taking?"  
  
"I just told him, I don't take any."  
  
"That can't be right. The iron in your system was WAY to high. You have to be taking something. Any iron pills?"  
  
"No. There's nothing I take." She said starting to get annoyed. The nurse looked at her suspiciously.  
  
"Fine, if you want to do it that way." She said waling away.  
  
Angel watched her leave. There was something in the gir-....Faith's tone that told him she was telling the truth.  
  
I'd like to keep writing but I've got to go now. So what do you think? I know that a real hospital would show more concern about there patients but I had to work some things in some way. Give me reviews. 


	5. Nice Meeting You

The nurse walked away. Angel stood where he was having absolutely no idea what he was supposed to do now. Leave? Then again she was alone. He couldn't leave her by herself in a hospital. Then again the nurse was calling her home. Someone would be here soon. But there was something in her attitude and gestures that told him she didn't have a very good home. Her dark eyes remained fixed on the door the nurse had just left threw.  
  
"Why do you keep helping me?" she asked with a tone of suspicion.  
  
"I don't know." He answered honestly. "Where ever I go you're just there, and in trouble."  
  
"Why should a vampire care?" she asked with that same tone of suspicion.  
  
So she figured it out. He wondered how much she knew.  
  
"So you know?" he said simply.  
  
"I know enough Angelus."  
  
"It's Angel."  
  
"Don't you think that's a little hypocritical?" she said now giving him her full attention. "Especially with your track record."  
  
"If you know who I am and what I've done why don't you kill me? You are the slayer."  
  
"One, technically I'm not the slayer. Two, I haven't had the chance until now and now I don't have a stake. Three, why don't you kill me? Why are you helping me? A dead slayer would be great for bragging to your blood sucking buddies."  
  
"I'm not like I used to be." He said almost walking away. "And I try to keep my distance from other vampires."  
  
"Why? To them you'd almost be a superman."  
  
"I told you I'm different."  
  
"How?" she asked  
  
"I have a soul."  
  
"A soul." Faith said skeptically.  
  
"I know it sound unbelievable but I was cursed. And for a vampire having a soul is a curse. I regret every single thing I've done as a vampire."  
  
Faith looked at him a little oddly. It DID sound a little unbelievable. But still there was something different about him then other vampires. Or guys for that matter. His eyes didn't look like a vampires eyes in their human form. There was something there. Something that looked....alive. He was different then the vicious scheming monster she had read about.  
  
"Okay."  
  
"What?" he asked sounding a bit odd.  
  
"I said okay. I believe you."  
  
Angel was a little surprised. He wasn't really sure what to do. He didn't think that she would believe him.  
  
"Why?" he asked with nothing else to say.  
  
"In the last few days I've learned that magic spells and witches are real. That all of those things that go bump in the night really do exist and I have super human strength and it's by 'destiny' to destroy them. This isn't that big of a leap for me."  
  
"Thank you."  
  
"For what?"  
  
"For believing me." He shrugged while he said it. 


	6. Chit chat

Faith let out a sigh of boredom. "How long am I supposed to be here?"  
  
Angel stood leaning against the wall next to her. He was still amazed that Faith had put such blind.....well faith in him. He would have left but being here with her gave him an odd comfort. At least he wasn't alone some where.  
  
"Relax. They just want to keep you over night.." Angel said trying to be of some help. "Besides the nurse called your home a few minuets ago, your family should be here soon."  
  
Faith let out a sour laugh. "You obviously don't know my family." she turned her head away from him and looked out a nearby window. Angel could feel his heart fall looking at her. He didn't want to leave her here by herself.  
  
"I'll stay with you. If that's okay with you anyway." He said not wanting to go. He didn't feel like being alone again just so soon.  
  
"You might as well. You did save my life a few times." Faith said glad for the company. She hated being in places like this alone. People would always feel sorry for her because she would be by herself. She never really minded it, but then of course she spent most of her time alone, even when she was with others.  
  
A silence followed neither not really sure what the other expected them to say.  
  
"You haven't been a slayer for very long have you?" Angel asked.  
  
"How did you know?" she asked with some surprise.  
  
"Just the way you were fighting the other day." He said hoping it didn't sound like an insult.  
  
"Am I really that bad?" Faith said sounding a little put down.  
  
"No!....That's not what I meant you just seemed to be....new at it."  
  
"You don't have to sugar coat it for me. I know I'm not that good at it. That's what Maggie is always complaining to me about."  
  
"Maggie?" Angel asked wondering who she was.  
  
"She's my watcher and a bitch."  
  
Angel smiled at that. He never really meet a slayer before but he knew enough about them to know that they usually don't insult their watchers.  
  
"So you do smile sometimes." Faith seeing his face. She knew already that he wasn't a person who smiled much. Angel meanwhile was a little surprised himself. Not that she had mentioned it but that he had actually smiled at something he said.  
  
"Yeah I do sometimes I guess." He said answering her comment. "How long have you been a slayer exactly?" he said continuing his thoughts he had before.  
  
"Only about two weeks. Its it really that obvious?"  
  
"Well....you are good at fighting....which....which is your job..."  
  
"You can tell the truth I can't get mad."  
  
"It's a little obvious. Just a little though."  
  
"It figures. I don't really don't pay attention during training. It's always so boring and Maggie doesn't do anything she just yells."  
  
"You really should pay more attention. You could die if you don't." he said with a tone of worry in his voice.  
  
"I don't think that she or the other watchers would really mind that. I'm not exactly the ideal slayer. Actually I'm not even THE slayer."  
  
"What do you mean?" he asked confused.  
  
"The other slayer died for a second then came back to life. She's still the slayer. Me being...."this" is just kind of a mistake."  
  
"But still make you....slay?" he said not able to find a better word.  
  
"Yeah. If you want to call it that." She said still smiling. It was ice to have some one to talk to instead of being here by herself. Probably bored out of her mind. "Thanks for staying." She said suddenly. "If you weren't here I'd be bored eating hospital food, not that it's anything better then what I usually eat."  
  
"No problem." He said glad she liked that he was here. "I like the company anyway."  
  
Sorry I haven't updated any of my stories in a while. I've been busy. Hope you like this chapter. It's another short one but I hope I can make a longer better one soon. 


	7. Meet My Watcher

Hey everybody sorry it's taking me so long to update. Girls tennis season is starting. As a side note I know how you get iron poisoning and how to cure it but I don't know how long it takes to cure it. So if I'm wrong I'm sorry.  
  
Angel starred down at Faith who had fallen asleep moments ago. He stayed sitting in a chair in the corner of the room. He liked watching her sleep, as morbid and creepy as that may sound. Faith. An almost ironic name for a girl like this. A girl who didn't believe in anything, surrounded by unhappy scenes in an unhappy life. She didn't tell him all of it but he picked up on most of it. He could read her in a way that he knew she could read him.  
  
All threw it he was glad he now had someone to talk to. He had promised to take her home when she got out of here. She was going to walk home and the last thing he or she wanted was for her to pass out or something on the way there. He really didn't want to leave her anyway.  
  
  
  
Faith woke up the next morning but she still wasn't aloud to leave until that night. Angel left the room while she changed out of her hospital gown and into the clothes she was wearing the other day. She walked out and looked up at him with a smile.  
  
"Ready to go?" She asked.  
  
"Yeah." He said and they walked out together.  
  
"How are you holding up?" Angel asked starting a conversation.  
  
"Fine. The nurses and doctors were all amazed at how quickly I healed."  
  
"So....your parents know your coming home?" he asked hoping it wasn't the wrong thing to say.  
  
"I left a message on the answering machine. Not that they'd check it. I'm not going home right now anyway." She said looking straight a head to trying to show him her emotions.  
  
"Ummmm then where are we going?" he asked a little confused.  
  
"Maggie's house. My watcher. I missed training today and she's probably bouncing off the walls."  
  
"Watcher?" Angel asked nervously.  
  
"Relax. I'm not going to let the 63 year old lady hurt you." Faith said smiling at his nervousness. But then again knowing Maggie, maybe he had a right to be nervous.  
  
She guided him along to a rather large expensive looking house. It did match his ideas of a watcher. Rich, generally English though there were exceptions.  
  
Faith walked in the front door but Angel stopped behind her.  
  
"What's wrong?"  
  
"I...uh can't come in unless you invite me." He said uneasily.  
  
"Oh yeah. Come in."  
  
Faith then took him down a long hallway and into a study. He was unsure about this but Faith being there calmed his nerves. An older woman sitting in a chair by a bookcase. She was in her elder years of life but was in good shape. She started to speak without really looking up.  
  
"Faith. So here you come. Where were you? In the backseat of some college boy's car?" she asked with a bitter icy tone. "If you think..." she was going to finish when she looked up to see Angel standing next to Faith.  
  
"YOU!" she screamed suddenly.  
  
Hope you guys liked it. I'm supposed to ask, know any good sites for A/F fanfiction besides this and Predators? 


	8. Alone

Faith stood still next to Angel as Maggie gave him a glare of death.

"Faith kill him!' she said in an ordering tone. She continued to glare at Angel. "Faith what the hell are you waiting for!?!?! Kill him!!!!"

"He won't hurt us Maggie." Faith said simply surprised that Maggie knew what Angel was, at least that's what she assumed by the way she was acting.

"Won't hurt us?!?!?! He's a vampire, and not just any vampire at that!" she said, by this point beyond rage.

She looked over at Angel. Guess he was pretty bad by the way Maggie was acting. Faith herself would have to cut off her own finger to get the woman to even look at her most of the time. Still, those eyes, there was something in them, and an top of that one of her favorite things so do was piss off her watcher.

Angel looked at Faith as she looked at him. He knew that she wasn't going to hurt him.

"He has a soul." Faith said plainly then walked over to a nearby candy dish and put one of the bonbon's in her mouth.

? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? 

After another twenty minuets and finally getting out the whole story out Faith just left with Angel leaving a screaming Maggie behind.

Angel turned his head back toward the door as they left.

"Sorry about getting you into trouble."

"Don't. If she wasn't yelling about you it would be something else. Thanks again for staying at the hospital with me." She said not really looking at him.

"No problem."

They kept walking not really saying anything. To both of their surprise the silence was annoying or awkward. They had ended up near the cemetery where the two of them had first meet. Once again vampires came out. Once again there was a fight. Once again Angel helped.

Faith was off to the side fighting with one of the remaining vampires. She knocked him to the ground and pinned him by stepping on him.

"Kill me, but more will come. You will die. It has been ordered by Kakistos."

"Sure buddy whatever you say." She said then staked him threw the heart.

Angel walked over toward her.

"You okay?" he asked with a genuine amount of concern that she was completely unprepared for.

"Five by five."

"What did it say to you?" Angel asked starring at the ashes.

"Something about kissing toes?" She said oddly.

"What?"

"I have no idea. It was probably nothing. Vampires usually babble on about nothing anyway......uh, no offense." She said quickly realizing what she just said.

Angel smiled.

"None taken."

They continued to talk as they walked away. Completely unaware that someone was watching them.

? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? 

Angel walked into his apartment alone and closed the door behind him. He'd been careful choosing it. After a while he had finally gotten tired of sleeping on the street. The owner of the building new all about.............the things that went bump in the night. All he had to do was get rid of the occasional man eating demon and he could stay. He walked over and lay down on the bed.

He told himself over the years that he liked to live alone. Of course if that was true then he wouldn't have to keep telling himself that. He did like at times. He was a bit of a loner, but being by yourself for almost one hundred years gets old. He missed Faith.

As ridiculous as it sounded it was true. He wanted to talk to her longer, to be with her longer but the sun was coming up. He just went home. Maybe he could run into her tomorrow.

Something about earlier bothered him though. He felt like someone was watching them. Faith didn't seem to notice, but then maybe she did. She was probably used to someone always watching her, that was what her watcher was there for after all.

There was another thing that bothered him. What that vampire had said before Faith killed it. Faith had said something later about him saying something about be 'ordered' by kissing or something. There was something odd about the vampires in the cemetery tonight, and the last time they were there. They were all dressed similar on both nights. None of them were out feeding or out for fun. They seemed to specifically going after Faith.

There was something odd going on. He just didn't know what it was yet.

Sorry if this chapter is a little cutting, I've been writing this on and off for a couple of days. Usually I just write the whole thing at once after I get an idea. Hope you like it all the same.


	9. Mommy Dearest

Deep in the dark nine

"Is she taken care of?" came the cold almost grinding voice from the shadows.

The vampire in front of it looked terrified. "No exactly."

"What?" the voice was calm but the tone held an almost monsterous warning.

"She killed the ones we sent to go get her. We came so close last time.....but she has some one helper her."

"Her watcher?"

"No.....we think he might be a vampire."

"Don't be ridiculous! A vampire helping a slayer!?! That goes against the very laws of nature."

"But the vampire....there's something wrong with him. I don't know what it is, just this sense that something about him isn't normal."

"Not normal? Is he stronger then usual?"

"No it's not that...I can't even explain what it was."

"It was probably nothing. Probably wasn't even a vampire. A vampire helping a slayer. How ridiculous."

? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? 

Faith lay in her bed trying not to listen to her mothers yelling in the other. She wasn't yelling at anyone. That's when she was most drunk, most dangerous. Her screaming kept getting louder.

"Goddamn house! Where the fucking hell is that liquor?!?! Faith! Where are you?!?! Faith!!!!!!!"

Faith ignored her though. By this point she was too drunk to even know how to open a door. As long as she stayed in her room, she'd be safe. Maybe she'd find her damn liquor and finally just drink herself to the grave.

She almost flinched on the outside. She felt so terrible when she thought things like that. She was her mother. A horrible mother, the fact is life would be better without her, but she was still her mother. When she was little she used to think she would some day change. Be better. Get a job, be happy, and let her be happy. But that never happened, it never would happen, and so they both lived in absolute misery.

Where her mother came form was a mystery to her. She knew her fathers parents died long before she was born. They'd been good people. Apparently she had an aunt somewhere who was a spinster and very devoted to her religion. She sometimes wanted to meet her. A woman who many people loved, who was kind and very charitable. A person like that, related to her? To her parents? That didn't even seem possible. Maybe she would like her. Like her young niece. But then again she might detest her right away like everyone else in the family had done.

Why her mother kept her at all was beyond her. Why not an abortion? Why not give her up for adoption? Once while in an argument she asked her why she didn't just let social services take her away. She didn't say anything. She just hit her then beat her with a belt so hard she was in bed for a month and couldn't move.

Needless to say that was the last time she asked. Now she just tried to avoid the woman all together. It had been kind of working so far.

She rolled over on her side away from the door and faced the small window next to her window. She used to imagine opening it and jumping out. Just falling forever. Falling away.

She curled deeper into the bed and hugged the blankets closer. She wanted to sleep but couldn't. Her mother was making too much noise. She looked back on her life for the past few weeks. She was a slayer now. A huntress.

She liked that. Now she wasn't helpless. She could do something. She could feel that power run threw her. She loved that feel.

Her mind drifted back to Angel. Her dark stranger. He was the first one who helped her. He was handsome. Yes he was a creature of the night she was meant to kill but she wasn't blind. She wanted to know what he felt like. What his kisses were like. She shrugged it off, or a least tried to. She still didn't know that much about his kind. She should find out a little more about him before she tried to shove her tongue down her throat.

Faith almost started to giggle thinking about Angel's reaction if she did something like that. He was always so tense and nervous. Not nervous more brooding, more just....yeah a little nervous. She smiled he was sweet too. She was abruptly shaken from her thoughts at a loud crash outside of her door.

"Faith!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Now what? NO! Don't go out there. Just ignore her. There was some banging on her door and for a second fear gripped her as she thought that her mother could get in. She calmed herself down telling herself that that wasn't going to happen. She shook a little. She wanted to leave. Now! She had to get out of here.

Yeah that's a great idea, and go where? Maggie's? The woman was as bad emotionally as her mother.

Well....Angel. She did know where he lived. But what did she know about him? Should she reall-

Suddenly the door crashed through. And her mother walked in. She heard a car screech outside and looked out the window quickly to see a group get out the car. Vampires. Great. Now what?

Here is the new chapter. Sorry it took so long. School is murder.


	10. Hold Me Close

Faith could hear the vampires enter the building forcefully from below. It wouldn't long before they were banging on the apartment door. They couldn't get in right? No one had invited them in, right?

"Faith, damn it!!! Where IS MY LIQUOR?!?!?!?!" Her mother yelled and threw a nearby lamp at her. It missed her thought and shattered on the wall. A split second later she could hear the door in the other room.

Faith ran over to her mother as fast as she could and started pulling her toward the fire escape that was out the window.

"Get your damn hands off of me!!"

"We have to go now!! Those people coming in!"

"I let them in earlier today! They want you for some reason."

"Why would you do that!?!"

Before Faith could do anything her mother was grabbed in front of her and pulled away.

"Mom!"

She started running toward her when vampires grabbed her arms at both sides and threw her up against the wall. She kept struggling but couldn't get away. Her mother's scream sent of wave nausea through her body and made her skin shriek with the need to go to her. But she couldn't get away. The screams stopped. Her body went calm for split second before silent tears fell down her face and her body broke into constant slight shudders.

Her mother, the only person she came close to having, was gone forever.

She heard the front door open and saw two normal vampires walk into the room and then a giant almost deformed one follow. She guessed this one was a vampire too but there was something different about this one.

The power she felt coming from him was over whelming. It would be more terrifying but she was still in a state of shock and grief.

Kakistos looked at the young woman pinned to the wall in front of him. She had pale skin marked only by a tattoo on her left arm. Her hair was the color of a raven's wing. Her eyes looked like they were cut from stars. She was very beautiful. He always treasured beauty. If she had been anyone but a slayer he would have changed her instead of killing her. Bet then, she is a slayer. Pity.

"So your Faith? You've been causing me some trouble. I've ran into a few slayers in my time, none have been such a nascence." He said starring right into her eyes. She starred directly back. That surprised him a little. Most tried to avoid his gaze at any cost. She was bold.

"Let he go. She can't hurt me and she knows it."

The two vampires that had an iron grip on Faith let her go as quickly as they could and backed away. Faith just stood there as this creature walked toward him. She tensed her muscles getting ready for a fight.

"What, you want to fight me? Why? What do you have to fight for? No family. Slayers don't have friends and we've already gotten your watcher."

Maggie. She may not have liked the woman but that doesn't mean that she wanted her dead. This couldn't be happening. He was right though. But what did it matter if she had something or nothing. She was a fighter. Born and raised. No one way she going to let this son of a bitch take her down.

She remembered earlier, she had been playing with a switch blade. She had put it into her pocket. It was still there. She could feel it. She hadn't even noticed until now.

A switch blade. Not enough to kill these bastards but enough to get away. If she could get away she could get prepared and kill them later. Right she just had to get away.

"What are you going to do now little girl? There's no one around to save you."

As he walked closing she kept looking him dead in the eyes and he looked back. She was sure that was the only thing he was looking at, pressed her hand against her pocket and pushed up the knife. It was pressed against the palm of her hand. He kept walking closer in another second he would be only inches away from her.

"What are you going to do now little girl?" He said with a wicked smile.

With out warning she pressed out the switch blade and swipped it across his face, going over his eye.

He grabbed his face and started screaming in horror shock and pain.

The other vampires in complete shock ran toward him not knowing what else to do. Faith ran to the open window and climbed on to the fire escape and started running down.

She heard some one in the building yell "After her!"

She just kept running. She had to keep going. Where could she go though? Did she even know anyone else? Where was there to go?

Angel opened his eyes. There was a knocking on the door. Who was that?

No really who was that? Who did he know?

He walked to the door slowly. And opened it carefully.

There was Faith. Gripping herself into a hug. Her hair was a complete mess and part of her jeans was ripped. She looked a little off to the side. Her face was tear stained.

"Faith? What happened?" He said moving to the side so she could come in. She walked in slowly as id she expected to break into a run at any moment.

"I was...home...some vampires came...mom got...she's not....she's...and Maggie. They took her too." She said not wanting to fully say what had happened to them.

"Faith." He said quietly, and walking toward her. He gently put his hand her shoulder. She almost pulled away but then quickly relaxed herself in to his touch.

Angel looked her up and down. Trying see if he could smell or see any blood. She didn't seem hurt. Besides for a few scratches. She was fine. Physically anyway. Emotionally he didn't know.

"Can I stay here for a few hours? I don't have to be here that long."

"Faith you can stay here as long as you want. I want you here."

Faith let a few tears fall down her face. Her mother was gone. She may have abused her everyday of her life but...with out her she was completely alone. She gripped herself harder.

Angel looked at her. He moved closer and hugged her close. He didn't know why. He was going to move away but Faith snuggled into him and he gripped her tighter with both arms. She was crying, but not badly. She was just letting tears fall.

"Shhhhhh....Faith, it'll be okay. Faith....shhhhh...Faith. I've got you, shhhhh." He just held on to her. Gently rubbing her back with one hand.

He hated watching her cry.

"Come on Faith. You should go to bed. I'll make you something to eat if you want."

He felt her nod in his chest. He walked her over and put on the bed and pulled the covers over her. He remembered when he first regained his soul. Right after he remembered killing his family. The ones that loved him. Put up with him. And he killed them. He caused them horrible grief, then he killed them.

He wanted to make sure she was okay. He wanted to protect her. Not that she needed to be protected. She was so strong, but she kept being hurt by those who should have loved her. It didn't seem fair. Faith, her name went well for her. A girl who needed faith, faith that she could survive anything that was thrown at her.

He was about to get up when he heard Faith.

"Angel could you stay for a little while?"

"Sure." He said quietly laying down next to her. She moved into him and he hugged her again. He new he shouldn't be happy right now....but he was.


	11. Morning After

Faith woke the next morning alone. She looked for Angel but he wasn't there.

'Waking up without some one there was a surprise.'

But this time it was different. It wasn't like they had slept with each other or anything. Where was he then? Well this was his place he'd be around here or back soon.

She lay back down. Her mother was gone and so was Maggie. She didn't have anyone. Well…..maybe Angel….but she wasn't going to get her hopes up.

She just lay there. She didn't want to think about it. What was the worst part was that she wasn't as sorry as she should be. She didn't feel as much pain as she should. Part of her was even happy. The woman beat her everyday of her life. Hardly feed her and at times didn't even know her name.

She just wanted to forget.

She slowly got up and walked into the living room.

"Angel?" she asked quietly. He wasn't there.

She looked over. The chairs around the table were all thrown over. The door looked like it had been broken open from the inside.

"Angel?!" She said louder this time.

There had been a struggle of some kind. And know Angel was gone. She looked at the floor hurriedly, searching for any signs of ashes. She saw nothing. But what if they had been scattered? Where was he? Her heart beat pick up speed.

Think. The door is broken open from the inside. Something had to get out. She looked into the hall way. There had been a commotion out there too. There were scratches on the walls among other things.

The fight had gone into the hall. Who would come here though? Angel was a vampire with a soul. Chances were he had some kind of enemy.

But what about those vampires the other night? Lead by the one deformed. The one she had cut. What if he knew about Angel and had gone after him? No one would have to invite him in, Angel was a vampire so the rules of invitation don't count.

She knew she was going out on a limb but this was the only lead she had. She had to find Angel.

? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? 

Kakistos sat in a large chair a bandage over his eye. That bitch. That fucking whore of a bitch. She'd gotten away too.

The bitch. There was no saving his eye. Even with advanced healing there was nothing that could be done.

He'd rip her open and feed on her insides. He had lived through these eons without any harm. Not even a scratch. Now this girl came and destroyed that record.

The bitch.

He'd kill her mother and watcher. She had no one. She would be easy to find. All he needed to do was find some one educated in magic and he'd find her.

"Master?"

He turned to look at his servant.

"What is it?"

The young vampire cowered slightly.

"There is some one here to see you. He says his name is Angelus."


	12. From an Angel's Mouth

Angel looked around the room curiously. This was definitely the place of a master vamp. At lot like the "masters". That was something about the truly old ones. They had a thing for rat infested filthy nests.

Right now he was mostly concerned and mostly about Faith. They'd both almost been killed last night when they were sleeping.

Two vampires came into his home. He had gotten into a fight with them that had led them outside. He had managed to take out one but the other had started to run off. He knew he should've woken Faith but if he didn't chase after him he would have lost him.

He killed him right outside the building but it didn't take a genius to figure out he was going inside.

Now he was at Kakistos'. He used his old name; he hoped it still carried his old reputation along with it.

The door next to him opened and in walked Kakistos.

"Angelus. I have heard much about you. The scourge of Europe? What can I help you with?"

"Heard there's a slayer in town, and from what I hear you're after her. Oh, and it looks like she's already taken a nice little chunk out of you hasn't she."

"This is why you've come here? To insult me?" Kakistos said his voice darkening dangerously.

"No exactly, but it was so easy I couldn't resist. I'm here because I'm curious. I saw the new slayer a couple nights ago. Young pretty little thing, but not much different then any other slayer, so now I'm curious what is it about her that would attract the attention of someone like you?"

"I could ask what it is about her that would attract someone like you."

"Maybe I'm just looking for some new sport. You should know the victim is everything. The choice of victim is key to make something truly artful." The last part of it came out of Angel's mouth so easily that he almost felt like Angelus again.

"Now then," said Angel with his voice dark. "Why do you want to play around with my prey?"

Kakistos looked at him for a moment as if to judge him. "She is destined to kill and to cleanse the tormented of it's demons."

"And what is that last part supposed to mean."

"Honestly I have no idea but in the first part she kills me and personally I really don't care about the rest."

"Tell you what, why don't you let me have Faith. I've been playing all nice with her. You don't have to worry about a thing, as long as you stay away from my little precious that is."

Kakistos studied Angelus closely. With most vampires this would have been odd, but Angelus was well known to have and obsessive behavior toward his victims. He easily recalled the tale of him torturing and killing forty of their kind because of and 'interference' with a victim.

Angelus was obsessive and possessive. His victims were his art. He was powerful and skilled and they would be a blood war soon enough if he got in the way of Angelus' newest master piece.

"Fine then I'll back off but if she gets any closer I snap her neck in a second."

"Perfect." It really was perfect with this he would have time to explain to Faith and they had the element of surprise working for them when they got to the point of attacking Kakistos. Right now he had to find her.

What he didn't know was that Faith was much closer then he thought. Right outside the window, listening to absolutely everything, and feeling hurt.


End file.
